Criticism From BAQman & My Response

[Jamie]

Firstly...I've been reading PL for some time and just started reading this this board. I've been to Colombia numerous times now, but i'm only familiar with Jamie's agency in BAQ(my first trip). After my experience, I decided to return solo for obvious reasons(see below). My hope in writing this little review of my experience is to help others who may be considering using an agency in BAQ. I promise you one thing...everything below is fact.

My first face-to-face contact with the agency was the airport pick-up(I did Jamie's personal intro's tour). I was told the translator had my photo....don't worry, they know what you look like...it's a small airport. After waiting for 15 minutes near the curb(my flight arrived right on time), some members of the National Police decided to invite me into their on-site office. At the time, my Spanish was pretty rusty, and I was not at all pleased with being questioned by Police in Colombia rather than being in my nice air-conditioned taxi with the two beautiful costenas I was promised.

I managed to dig out an email with the local telephone number of the agency on it, and I asked to use the phone. Eventually my translator showed with two girls(neither even remotely of interest), and we were on our way. We all squeezed into the translator's wife's car...no A/C, of course, and away we went. I later found out that this translator was a complete crook(actually Jamie himself admitted as much), and the reason we were in his s***box rather than enjoying A/C was because he wanted the cash the agency gave him(and the cash they later gave him for drinks at our group intro's which ended up on my hotel bill).

So, the hotel isn't bad at all...hotel del prado...in fact I'd stay again. We arrived at the hotel, I un-packed, and I was to meet a few more ladies that evening. I think two of the five or six actually showed up, and those two were, again, of no interest. At least the translator changed...because I was not pleased with the other at this point. I paid for drinks at the hotel, and we were off to Buena Vista to see the great new mall. I was amazed...there were many hot women walking around, and here I was stuck with the ugly stiffs the agency actually got to show. I don't mean to insult the women, but next to most of the gringos they get down here I should be doing pretty well(mid-30's, in shape, plenty of cash).

The next two days brought several more introduction sessions. There were so many no-shows that the translator felt the need to explain to me why she thought we were having such a lack of success. It seems that she(as the only full-time translator at that time) had quit weeks ago because jamie had not paid her for more than a month. She also told me that the two guys running the show in BAQ(Jamie's wife's brothers) treated her like s*** and so did Jamie in their limited telephone and messenger contact. She also told me that Jamie had sent several million pesos recently..."where did it go???" she said.

It was about at this point that I decided to check my hotel bill(the agency was supposed to pre-pay my room because i had payed them). It turns out they had shorted me the equivalent of several hundred dollars. At this point I was fuming...a city full of beautiful women, and I had to pick an agency that had more problems than seemed possible. Most of the girls that did show up for the intro's were friends of one of Jamie's "marketing girls" who live in the poorest sections of BAQ and seemed more concerned with their "cinco pesos" for the transportation(they apparently promise the girls money for showing).

The positives: Catagena is fun, as is Frog Legs in BAQ. There are many gorgeous girls who are, in fact, friendly, honest, sincere, and looking for a real relationship. I did meet such a girl and ended up going back to see her numerous times...the first of which landed me, amazingly, in the room next to Jamie and his wife at a furnished apt building in the Prado district. I can't even begin to tell you the things I observed about Jamie and his wife while I was there...from the problems they had with the owner(they broke the refrigerator with a knife), to Karina and her friend that she was pushing on a client of theirs from GB as they both attempted to empty this guy's wallet in every conceivable way. Actually, her pic ended up on Jamie's own "bad girls" page before he blacked them out...it was amazing because his wife was actually telling her what to do to the guy...maybe he should put Karina's pic on the wall of fame too.

Oh yeah...and watch his photo manipulation. Some of these girls don't even look like the same people when you see them face-to-face. His wife's had more surgery that Cher, but she still doesn't come close to looking like the pics on the pages of his site.

So, here's my advice...unless he's done some major over-hauling at II, stay away at all costs. In fact, you'll save yourself a little cash too. Can I recommend an alternative? NO. See some of these other guys for that.

BAQman
I am sure you understand based on your email it was important to verify who you were. Of course I knew who you claimed to be, but it didn’t make sense that a man who used our services and found a wife using our services would be so negative and ungrateful and leave out the most important result of his trip, his new bride. Since you like to leave the important facts like this out of your story I shall do the honors in filling them in.

"…waiting for 15 minutes near the curb(my flight arrived right on time)"

Since you departed 2 weeks prior to my move down to BAQ 16 months ago I was not aware of the details of your time here only that it ended in success. Fortunately you primary translator Marbel still works for me and filled me in. Your reference to the airport pickup is correct and today was the first time I had heard of it. Such service is inexcusable I wish you had told me this and I would have apologized at that time and dealt with why it happened. The parties involved no longer work for me but if I had known of your experience I would have terminated them then.

“We all squeezed into the translator's wife's car...no A/C, of course,” “…he wanted the cash the agency gave him…”

This is also unacceptable service. Your ride to the hotel should have been in comfort and I apologize that I was not able to properly assure that it was. One of the primary reasons for moving to Colombia was that growth was making it impossible to manage from afar. I had to learn first hand that many people in Colombia will take advantage of your trust.  Such controls are now in place to prevent a repeat of such a bad welcome. We now only use designate taxi drivers with automobiles that are relatively new and in good condition with air-condition and we always arrive early.

“…translator was a complete crook(actually Jamie himself admitted as much)” “(and the cash they later gave him for drinks at our group intro's which ended up on my hotel bill).”

This is another mater I wish you informed me of because I would have compensated you had I known. I do not believe I called this guy a crook but from what you tell me he certainly was. I would never retain anyone that I felt was dishonest. Without a doubt I have had crooked people work for me. Prior to moving down here I must have fired at least a dozen for deception and incompetence. What people say they do and what they actually do down here is two different things. My presence now controls any deviation and my first hand hiring, training and over view of those who work for me is tight. I have a strong staff of 9 to 10 women that abide to and are supervised for integrity and results with sincerity and motivation.

“It was about at this point that I decided to check my hotel bill(the agency was supposed to pre-pay my room because i had payed them). It turns out they had shorted me the equivalent of several hundred dollars.”

I do recall there being an issue with the hotel where a second visit was made to the hotel to cover your full stay. We also talked on the phone twice during your trip with only the hotel issue coming up otherwise you were very please with the woman you met. Since you extended you stay on your own from what I understand the payment was made to your satisfaction. We only met one time during your second visit for less than 5 minutes and you indicated everything was good and brought up none of these problems that you do now. Billing problems are not acceptable, but at least they can be rectified quickly and in your situation they were. If this was not the case, you paid by credit card, a dispute could have easily been handled through them but you tell me 16 months later the bill was still outstanding even though you were “fuming” at the time. So you just let this go and don’t mention it to me in our only face to face contact a few weeks afterwards? It’s wrong for this situation to have come up at all but when problems do come up we take care of them as fast as possible. The moment you are mad for any reason we have let you down and I apologize that every moment of your trip wasn’t up to your expectations because it should have been nothing less. We now have a credit arrangement with the hotel that would prevent anything like this from happening again.

You mention many times that the women were unattractive or you had many no shows.
“two girls(neither even remotely of interest)”
“again, of no interest.”
“I was stuck with the ugly stiffs”
“There were so many no-shows”
You selected 40 women to meet and met over 20 and you told Marbel you did not want to meet a large amount of women otherwise your introductions would have continued. But there was a reason why you didn’t meet greater numbers. You were here less than 20 hours and you met you future wife. And you indicated you wanted to spend as much time as possible with her because you liked her from the very beginning. You spent all day and part of the night in Cartagena, you saw the super bowl together, you visited her family often and went on many dates and after all this time with you future wife your assessment from another post is,

“It was a week-long headache with about five minutes of actual productivity meeting one good looking girl”

Wasn’t the objective to find one right girl? You are here less than a day and we do this for you but it’s not the highlight of your story? She was just 5 minutes of productivity?  You said in another post “I took my lumps and moved on”, this is your assessment? We did not help you? We did nothing special for you just “lumps”? And after this week long stay you what extend your stay for more headaches?

You say, “There are many gorgeous girls who are, in fact, friendly, honest, sincere, and looking for a real relationship. I did meet such a girl…”

But you did not indicate you met her in one of our group introductions. We found her for you. Why would you fail to make that clear? That is not relevant to the review? It is really from here forward that you appear to be showing some type of vendetta against me. Considering we have only had cordial conversations and I have only tried to help you, and was successful in doing so so I am not sure why everything was negative. I know my postings can be on the abrasive side at times and some will object so I can only imagine this is playing a role?   

I looked at the photos of many of the women you met and many were good looking. Most are no longer on the website but at no time do you mention that you meet or dated any beautiful women. I am not going to take hours posting photos of all the women you met but if one goes to this link
http://www.latin-wife.com/personal_intro.asp
about half way down the page is a woman in orange that you went out with more than once and you spent the whole day with her in Cartagena is this an example of the “ugly stiffs” you were “stuck” with? You made some legitimate complaints but why the dishonesty here and you met other women like her too.

You mention some office chaos. About a month before your visited I fired the manager and without a doubt there was confusion and gossip in the office I removed and fired everyone but two girls. Karina’s brothers never had any proponent role and are gone. We never had less than four active translators and Marbel did not leave because of payment issues but due to conflicts with office personnel. I told her to hang tight until I arrived and I would take care of the situation. The people that work for me are paid more than double what the other agencies pay and I am very comfortable with the quality of our present staff. But none of this internal office problems affected your introductions or the end result. Selecting a woman does not mean she is going to want to meet you. We lined up all the women you selected that agreed to meet you and a no show generally means they were really not interested in meeting you but there was always women that showed and one was your wife.

” Most of the girls that did show up for the intro's were friends of one of Jamie's "marketing girls" who live in the poorest sections of BAQ and seemed more concerned with their "cinco pesos" for the transportation(they apparently promise the girls money for showing).”

The office staff tries to be friends with all the girls so we can know them is that not a good thing? We have women on the website in proportion to the economics of the country and we do pay the girls bus fares.  Did your wife receive money for showing? That is your answer regarding do we pay women for showing. And you know this so why do you bring this up?

”I can't even begin to tell you the things I observed about Jamie and his wife while I was there”

“Can’t even begin?” I saw you one time for only 5 minutes on the street. Karina only saw you talking on the phone with you door open once and once in the gym for 5 minutes and the shocking thing you want to tell us is that we broke the refrigerator? We have no knowledge of any broken refrigerator. I have been to the apartment complex many times with clients and never once has anyone bring this up. I was with a client that is on this board in the same apartment just recently trying to work a favor from them that they complied with. I do not owe anyone any money anywhere which is why the favor was granted.

“to Karina and her friend that she was pushing on a client of theirs from GB as they both attempted to empty this guy's wallet in every conceivable way. Actually, her pic ended up on Jamie's own "bad girls" page before he blacked them out...it was amazing because his wife was actually telling her what to do to the guy...maybe he should put Karina's pic on the wall of fame too.”

“I personally heard her trying to set-up a two-time client of theirs for fraud. I heard her saying these things with my own ears.”

Karina tells me she only met you once in the gym for a few short minutes when she introduced you to another client and his date. But you are saying with your “rusty” knowledge of Spanish you heard Karina plotting in front of you how to take money from the client “in every conceivable way” who is also her friend?  It wasn’t just one way they were making a list of every way? I am not sure why a married man would be spending time on my website but you recognized the lady on the website and now you spin a story to attack my wife’s looks and sincerity. I removed this girl from the website based on the information Karina had given me on her. I used that information to advice the client that she was not good for him. He did not want to accept this and I told him I could not continue to support what this girl was doing and I would not provide him anymore translation service which he wanted to renew.

”Oh yeah...and watch his photo manipulation. Some of these girls don't even look like the same people when you see them face-to-face.”

We do not manipulate photos it is very normal for some women to look better and others to look worst than their photos. All our photos are taken by girls who know nothing about photography. Please point out which photos you believe were manipulated?

“His wife's had more surgery that Cher, but she still doesn't come close to looking like the pics on the pages of his site.”

“I was actually shocked when I saw his wife...she looks nothing like the photos on his site. One of his own employees told me that it's not uncommon, and that Karina looked much different before her various surgeries.”

“Your wife had her ass and boobs done”

If Karina had any surgery I would say ok so what. Why are you bringing this up? This is part of your balanced review judging my wife’s looks? Karina has never had any plastic surgery. Karina has an incredible, natural body and while you may feel it is hard to believe someone can look this good without enhancement you are wrong. There are many such beautiful Colombian women. I photographed Karina and she looks exactly like all her pictures. I have many pictures of you wife and some look better than others but somewhere in between is how she normally looks. I don’t put average pictures of my wife on the website I put the better ones up. But that does not change the fact that this is who she is and how she looks. And then you email me and tell me, “Please recognize...this isn't personal.” You made some legitimate complaints that should never have happened 16 months ago but you stacked gossip and innuendo with a tainted view that did not represent the true picture and downplayed the results.

I think we can all agree that BAQman review of our service is very negative. This is a situation when we did badly. Yet even when we fumble many times you see we still get results. Now that our office staff is completely different and I am down here the results along with everything else have only gotten better, we learn and we improve. BAQman I apologize for all the bumps on the road during your stay but I am happy as I hope you are with what the journey brought you. I much rather you had those bumps and got what you wanted than had a smooth ride to an empty lot. In BAQman own words he went home with a “gorgeous” “wonderful” woman. Your final judgment should not be “despite the problems with your service, I found a wonderful girl.” You wife was not on the website. We selected and found her for you and it was only through our services that this was able to happen but you don’t seem to want to give us credit for anything but “disappointment”.

Engage the Exotic - Latin Women
http://International-Introductions.com

More on
http://www.worldlovecollege.com/Messages/Forum.asp?School=Main&Page=1

[Patrick]

... in response to Criticism From BAQman & My Response, posted by Jamie on May 20, 2005

I didn't read the whole post, but it appears that you're posting negative comments made about you on another forum here and then responding to them.  Why not just respond at the other forum instead?  I prefer to keep outside flame wars outside.  We have enough flaming of our own here without dragging in one of the PL satelite forum arguments.

[mudd]

... in response to Criticism From BAQman & My Response, posted by Jamie on May 20, 2005

Some people or clients in this matter are hard to please, and you could bend over backwards trying, and they would still want you too jump through fire. I am sure he had some issues, it happens when you are in this business and you have the human error factor, but this seem like a story of   he said, she said, and everything wasn’t perfect for him, when is it ever???

The last time I was down south, a client was complaining that the internet was down for two hours, and he couldn’t look at the web page. All he did was bitch, bitch and bitch about it. The owner tried to re assure him that it was out of his control, and it would probably be up in a few hours, and if he wanted, he could go to the office and looks through their database, which was only 5 minutes by taxi.   But no, he would rather complain every 5 minutes about how it was their fault that the internet connection was down. “Its Colombia, nothing works” duh!!!  It came on 30 minutes later, but this moron already pissed off the other clients staying there, so left a few days later.  He even admitted that he was “cheap” and always looked for the cheapest fees and prices; well I guess you get what you pay for. Some people, you just cant please.

[Heat]

... in response to Re: Criticism From BAQman & My Respo..., posted by mudd on May 20, 2005

I don't think your post is fair.  Yes there are two sides here but to just say he is hard to please is not enough.

[mudd]

... in response to Re: Re: Criticism From BAQman & My R..., posted by Heat on May 20, 2005

Life isn’t fair, get used to it. Not everyone is going to get what they want, or expect. Two people have two different ways a looking at things, that’s just human nature. my guess,(and this is just a guess) is that he left out some facts, because  their are two sides to every story, and maybe Jamie left out a few, but he is a lot more detailed about keeping track of accusations than the poster was, and he admitted (Jamie) that he did make mistakes. You just can’t please everybody all the time.

i should know,i deal with crazy, weird, just plain looped home owners.

[Heat]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQman & ..., posted by mudd on May 20, 2005

That's what you might say, others think another way.

The fact that he admitted many things had gone wrong is strong evidence.  But maybe you think otherwise.

Life is not fare but people should be.  Learn it!

[mudd]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQman &a..., posted by Heat on May 20, 2005

like i said, you look at it one way, i look at it another. Learn it!

[Heat]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQma..., posted by mudd on May 20, 2005

Yep I'm fair.  Believe it!

[BAQman]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQman & ..., posted by mudd on May 20, 2005

I agree...Jamie should get used to criticsim when his service is lacking....even if he thinks it's unfair.

[mudd]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQman &a..., posted by BAQman on May 20, 2005

If his service sucks, than he should take the criticism, if it warranted, but if some client has some outrageous needs and expects the moon for a dollar, than that’s another story. If he advertised a service at a set price, and the service was sub standard, then he should make up for it some how, but name bashing and "muddslinging" :-) doesn’t solve a whole lot.

[Heat]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Criticism From BAQma..., posted by mudd on May 20, 2005

but name bashing and "muddslinging" :-) doesn’t solve a whole lot. ""

Well I think it serves the newbies very well.  That's how you decide who to use for this process.

This is the only way to know.  One girls "stud" is anothers Mudd

[BAQman]

... in response to Criticism From BAQman & My Response, posted by Jamie on May 20, 2005

"I am sure you understand based on your email it was important to verify who you were. Of course I knew who you claimed to be, but it didn’t make sense that a man who used our services and found a wife using our services would be so negative and ungrateful and leave out the most important result of his trip, his new bride. Since you like to leave the important facts like this out of your story I shall do the honors of filling them in."

Actually, it was you who emailed me first...asking about how things went with "the girl" I met through your agency. You then tried to call me in what I'm sure was an attempt to stop further negative postings about your agency. I really had no interest in personal contact with you, but I did respond in kind. I didn't claim to be anyone...I'm very happy with anonimity. It was you who had to dig through your records...in an attempt to find someone who you initially claimed didn't exist..."couldn't have happened" was how you put it, I believe.

"Since you departed 2 weeks prior to my move down to BAQ 16 months ago I was not aware of the details of your time here only that it ended in success. Fortunately you primary translator Marbel still works for me and filled me in. Your reference to the airport pickup is correct and today was the first time I had heard of it. Such service is inexcusable I wish you had told me this and I would have apologized at that time and dealt with why it happened. The parties involved no longer work for me but if I had known of your experience I would have terminated them then."

You were all too aware of what happened when I talked with you after finding my hotel credit from II lacking. I guess Marbel was aware of it too....and she didn't tell you? As my personal translator, she didn't tell the boss that I had to be picked up at the Police Station at the airport because my ride was late? Hard to believe, Jamie. I told you, and I'm sure she told you at the time. On the subject of Marbel, you say she still works for you? I've had contact with her numerous times over the past year, and I thought she worked for a former client of yours for a while and then went solo? In fact, I have an email from you responding to my specific question regarding Marbel from a few weeks ago(different email acct.). You responded that she worked for you in the past, but no more. Do you now deny this, or did you hire her back recently...maybe just for yesterday?

"This is also unacceptable service. Your ride to the hotel should have been in comfort and I apologize that I was not able to properly assure that it was. One of the primary reasons for moving to Colombia was that growth was making it impossible to manage from afar. I had to learn first hand that many people in Colombia will take advantage of your trust. Such controls are now in place to prevent a repeat of such a bad welcome. We now only use designate taxi drivers with automobiles that are relatively new and in good condition with air-condition and we always arrive early."

So, you're admitting major problems in the past...but, at the same time, it's all somebody else's fault. Here's your logic: It didn't happen; but, if it did, I wasn't aware of it. Furthermore, it's the client's responsible because he didn't tell me 5 times...just the once. I have a wonderful translator who still works for me(survived my many office axings) who still remembers all these details; but, I swear, she never told me. Makes perfect sense.

"This is another mater I wish you informed me of because I would have compensated you had I known. I do not believe I called this guy a crook but from what you tell me he certainly was. I would never retain anyone that I felt was dishonest. Without a doubt I have had crooked people work for me. Prior to moving down here I must have fired at least a dozen for deception and incompetence. What people say they do and what they actually do down here is two different things. My presence now controls any deviation and my first hand hiring, training and over view of those who work for me is tight. I have a strong staff of 9 to 10 women that abide to and are supervised for integrity and results with sincerity and motivation."

Again, my fault. I should have rented a billboard outside your office. You didn't "know" because you chose to ignore it. What your presence means now exactly, I have no idea. It's a question of caring...if you didn't care when you were in the states, why would you care any more just because you're "present."

"I do recall there being an issue with the hotel where a second visit was made to the hotel to cover your full stay. We also talked on the phone twice during your trip with only the hotel issue coming up otherwise you were very please with the woman you met. Since you extended you stay on your own from what I understand the payment was made to your satisfaction. We only met one time during your second visit for less than 5 minutes and you indicated everything was good and brought up none of these problems that you do now. Billing problems are not acceptable, but at least they can be rectified quickly and in your situation they were. If this was not the case, you paid by credit card, a dispute could have easily been handled through them but you tell me 16 months later the bill was still outstanding even though you were “fuming” at the time. So you just let this go and don’t mention it to me in our only face to face contact a few weeks afterwards? It’s wrong for this situation to have come up at all but when problems do come up we take care of them as fast as possible. The moment you are mad for any reason we have let you down and I apologize that every moment of your trip wasn’t up to your expectations because it should have been nothing less. We now have a credit arrangement with the hotel that would prevent anything like this from happening again."

You're recollection is incorrect. We talked once during my stay, and I told you the service I was provided was completely inadequate. How long I stayed on my own and how many times I returned don't change the fact that the things you stated you would do during my stay were not done to any reasonable person's satisfaction.

"You mention many times that the women were unattractive or you had many no shows.
“two girls(neither even remotely of interest)”
“again, of no interest.”
“I was stuck with the ugly stiffs”
“There were so many no-shows”
You selected 40 women to meet and met over 20 and you told Marbel you did not want to meet a large amount of women otherwise your introductions would have continued. But there was a reason why you didn’t meet greater numbers. You were here less than 20 hours and you met you future wife. And you indicated you wanted to spend as much time as possible with her because you liked her from the very beginning. You spent all day and part of the night in Cartagena, you saw the super bowl together, you visited her family often and went on many dates and after all this time with you future wife"

I definintely met over 20 women. Of the 40 I selected, at most 5 were included in the 20. Of the 5, possibly two actually looked like the same person. Marbel told me that you wanted me to meet more...I said, "are any of the 'more' he wants me to meet going to be the ones I wanted to meet...or anything even remotely resembling such?" Of course, her answer was no. She was all apologies...having quit recently because Jamie hadn't paid her in a month...she said the agency was understaffed, and they hadn't done the work prior to my arrival that they should have to offer the service she thought I was entitled to. I arived Thursday evening, as I recall. I do remember having meetings with various girls through Sunday(definitely through the scheduled pool party on saturday, because your translator Pablo stuck me with the tab for all the drinks including his). My math isn't real good...but isn't that longer than 20 hours? Maybe you thought I was coming Friday night, and thats why I spent some quality time with Barranquilla's finest while waiting for my ride at the airport.

"Wasn’t the objective to find one right girl? You are here less than a day and we do this for you but it’s not the highlight of your story? She was just 5 minutes of productivity? You said in another post “I took my lumps and moved on”, this is your assessment? We did not help you? We did nothing special for you just “lumps”? And after this week long stay you what extend your stay for more headaches?"

You shouldn't worry about client's ultimate objectives in life...you should worry about living up to what your agency says it will do. An agency doen't promise that someone will meet a life-mate. It's impossible...in fact, if I were complaining that I hadn't met that someone special, I'm sure you'd tell me that's completely beyond your control. What you can control is how much you prepare for a client, the people you hire, the things you pay for, the service you provide. It's incredibe that you want to focus on wether or not I met someone when this isn't part of the contract, bud. How people click is chemistry, chance...you promise X, Y, and Z. A wife isn't part of the promise, and it shouldn't be a part of the discussion here. The fact that I met someone in my limited time as your client should baffle anyone. You dropped the ball again, and agian, and again. When I dropped you, the headaches subsided.

"You say, “There are many gorgeous girls who are, in fact, friendly, honest, sincere, and looking for a real relationship. I did meet such a girl…”
But you did not indicate you met her in one of our group introductions. We found her for you. Why would you fail to make that clear? That is not relevant to the review? It is really from here forward that you appear to be showing some type of vendetta against me. Considering we have only had cordial conversations and I have only tried to help you, and was successful in doing so so I am not sure why everything was negative. I know my postings can be on the abrasive side at times and some will object so I can only imagine this is playing a role?"

Ummm...you tried to help me? Your job was to make sure your agency lived up to its end of the deal...namely, doing the work before-hand to arrange for the girls I wanted to be present(at least a reasonable percentage), honest employees who dont steal, paying what you said you would pay...when you'd been paid in full weeks in advance, etc. What's clear is, your agency did a horrible job and you want me to be grateful. Go figure.

"I looked at the photos of many of the women you met and many were good looking. Most are no longer on the website but at no time do you mention that you meet or dated any beautiful women. I am not going to take hours posting photos of all the women you met but if one goes to this link
http://www.latin-wife.com/personal_intro.asp
about half way down the page is a woman in orange that you went out with more than once and you spent the whole day with her in Cartagena is this an example of the “ugly stiffs” you were “stuck” with? You made some legitimate complaints but why the dishonesty here and you met other women like her too."

Ok, so I was in BAQ for only 20 hours before swearing off any further meetings and dates for my future wife, but I spent a full day in Cartegena with a girl who works for you and is not available in your database? For a guy who lives for the facts, you're going to have a hard time explaining that. I know the girl, her name is Jornadys, and I met her at the pool on Saturday for the first time....maybe 2 days after my arrival. Why are you sending employees who want to perfect their english to intro meetings designed for guys to meet marriage-minded women? You can't get many lookers with your offers of 5 mil pesos, so you hire some as what....escorts? Unbelievable.

"You mention some office chaos. About a month before your visited I fired the manager and without a doubt there was confusion and gossip in the office I removed and fired everyone but two girls. Karina’s brothers never had any proponent role and are gone. We never had less than four active translators and Marbel did not leave because of payment issues but due to conflicts with office personnel. I told her to hang tight until I arrived and I would take care of the situation. The people that work for me are paid more than double what the other agencies pay and I am very comfortable with the quality of our present staff. But none of this internal office problems affected your introductions or the end result. Selecting a woman does not mean she is going to want to meet you. We lined up all the women you selected that agreed to meet you and a no show generally means they were really not interested in meeting you but there was always women that showed and one was your wife."

Karina's brothers never had a proponent role...ok. Then why was it that they were summoned to deal with the hotel bill that was not fully paid when I blew my top? They handled the money, the took girls' pictures(my wife's, in fact). They were invloved, as much as you probably wish they hadn't been. If your office was in such turmoil, why did you not bring that to my attention so we could reschedule? No, you'd rather send a client in, knowing full-well that the service was not in a position to handle it at that time. This is completely on you, Jamie.

"The office staff tries to be friends with all the girls so we can know them is that not a good thing? We have women on the website in proportion to the economics of the country and we do pay the girls bus fares. Did your wife receive money for showing? That is your answer regarding do we pay women for showing. And you know this so why do you bring this up?"

Most of the girls were p***ed because you wasted their time and mine. Many expressed these feelings openly, and then wanted their "bus fares." You didn't do the work to sort through girls and try to get a few that would even approach my request. Instead you issued a last-minute cattle call that only served to make matters worse. You were concerned with numbers...you should have been concerned with complying with my wishes or telling me that you couldn't at that time. Bad way to run a business.

“Can’t even begin?” I saw you one time for only 5 minutes on the street. Karina only saw you talking on the phone with you door open once and once in the gym for 5 minutes and the shocking thing you want to tell us is that we broke the refrigerator? We have no knowledge of any broken refrigerator. I have been to the apartment complex many times with clients and never once has anyone bring this up. I was with a client that is on this board in the same apartment just recently trying to work a favor from them that they complied with. I do not owe anyone any money anywhere which is why the favor was granted."

I'm happy you decided to settle up with the owner, I would have hated to see that nice poor woman(maid) get stuck with the tab. As far as what I've heard Karina say...the walls at Alvaro Jesus are very interesting...they actually leave a space between some of the rooms along the windows. I found this out because I was trying to do some work one night when Karina and her friend and your client from London were arguing next door. I was amazed at what was said then, and even more amazed at what was said when the client left. I felt so badly for the guy, I almost called him at the hotel...they were completely putting the screws to him. Your wife should be ashamed of herself.

"Karina tells me she only met you once in the gym for a few short minutes when she introduced you to another client and his date. But you are saying with your “rusty” knowledge of Spanish you heard Karina plotting in front of you how to take money from the client “in every conceivable way” who is also her friend? It wasn’t just one way they were making a list of every way? I am not sure why a married man would be spending time on my website but you recognized the lady on the website and now you spin a story to attack my wife’s looks and sincerity. I removed this girl from the website based on the information Karina had given me on her. I used that information to advice the client that she was not good for him. He did not want to accept this and I told him I could not continue to support what this girl was doing and I would not provide him anymore translation service which he wanted to renew."

I'm quite sure Karina tells you everything. LOL... If you'd like to know what I heard her say about you...mail me, I'll be glad to tell you back-channel.

"We do not manipulate photos it is very normal for some women to look better and others to look worst than their photos. All our photos are taken by girls who know nothing about photography. Please point out which photos you believe were manipulated?"

You say most of the girls' pics are gone now, but you want me to point out which ones were manipulated. Enough said.

"I have many pictures of you wife and some look better than others but somewhere in between is how she normally looks. I don’t put average pictures of my wife on the website I put the better ones up. But that does not change the fact that this is who she is and how she looks. And then you email me and tell me, “Please recognize...this isn't personal.” You made some legitimate complaints that should never have happened 16 months ago but you stacked gossip and innuendo with a tainted view that did not represent the true picture and downplayed the results."

Why do you still have photos of my wife? She never appeared on your site, but you still many photos to view? It's ok...I understand why you might want to keep them around. On her behalf though, she says that she'd like you to delete any reference to her you may still have at your agency...pics, her mother's telephone number so you stop harassing her, etc. Calling a poor old woman in colombia to try to illicit information about me...what a man you are, Jamie.

"I think we can all agree that BAQman1 review of our service is very negative. This is a situation when we did badly. Yet even when we fumble many times you see we still get results. Now that our office staff is completely different and I am down here the results along with everything else have only gotten better, we learn and we improve. BAQman1 I apologize for all the bumps on the road during your stay but I am happy as I hope you are with what the journey brought you. I much rather you had those bumps and got what you wanted than had a smooth ride to an empty lot. In BAQman1 own words he went home with a “gorgeous” “wonderful” woman. Your final judgment should not be “despite the problems with your service, I found a wonderful girl.” You wife was not on the website. We selected and found her for you and it was only through our services that this was able to happen but you don’t seem to want to give us credit for anything but “disappointment”."

Jamie, I appreciate your appology. I'm sorry you chose not to address these issues in the past...maybe if you had they wouldn't be biting you in the arse now. I paid you for a smooth ride...and all I got was bumps. You certainly want to focus on whatever positives you can...understandable given your circumstances. I think we both know you didn't choose anyone...your sad attempt at service amounted to a last-minute call to those who might have availability. This is not what I paid months in advance for, bud. You reap what you sew.

[Jamie]

... in response to Re: Criticism From BAQman & My Respo..., posted by BAQman on May 20, 2005

BAQman
As a customer you’ve made complaints that were accurate and should not have happened and with me here they won’t happen again. I take responsibility for those mistakes. But you also brought up many maters that were not correct or even relevant and you continue to bring up more such lies.

”...it was you who emailed me first...asking about how things went with "the girl" I met through your agency.”

I emailed you to confirm that the person referenced in this post was you and I explained why I did that.

“You then tried to call me in what I'm sure was an attempt to stop further negative postings about your agency.”

That is a wrong assumption I can take the bad with the good as noted I needed to confirm that this was a legitimate customer and not a prank.

“It was you who had to dig through your records...in an attempt to find someone who you initially claimed didn't exist..."couldn't have happened" was how you put it, I believe.”

No digging was required it either had to be you or a prank and I explained that it seemed unusual for a successful search for a wife to report nothing but negativity.

”You were all too aware of what happened when I talked with you after finding my hotel credit from II lacking. I guess Marbel was aware of it too....and she didn't tell you? As my personal translator, she didn't tell the boss that I had to be picked up at the Police Station at the airport because my ride was late? Hard to believe, Jamie.”

I do not know why it would be hard to believe that employees that are out of sight thousand of miles away would hide a blunder from me. But I still take responsibility for them.

“ On the subject of Marbel, you say she still works for you? I've had contact with her numerous times over the past year, and I thought she worked for a former client of yours for a while and then went solo? In fact, I have an email from you responding to my specific question regarding Marbel from a few weeks ago(different email acct.). You responded that she worked for you in the past, but no more. Do you now deny this, or did you hire her back recently...maybe just for yesterday? ”

It is very clear you have an agenda that goes beyond an Agency review. You are a married man reviewing my website, sending inquiring emails under a concealed name on a question you yourself say you have the answer for. Why would you do that? If you have emailed Marbel in the past you must be friends and she must have been a good translator for you, but of course you never mentioned this in your review because that would be a positive.  As you may know, Marbel has back problems and has difficulty working full time. She heard I was looking to hire someone and she applied for the job about 3 weeks ago. She is now with a customer on a 2 week stay.

”So, you're admitting major problems in the past..”

We have a very high standard of achievement any problem is a major problem and like all businesses we have them.

“but, at the same time, it's all somebody else's fault. Here's your logic: It didn't happen; but, if it did, I wasn't aware of it. Furthermore, it's the client's responsible because he didn't tell me 5 times...just the once. I have a wonderful translator who still works for me(survived my many office axings) who still remembers all these details; but, I swear, she never told me. Makes perfect sense. ”

I never said it did not happen, and I said “I apologize that I was not able to properly assure that it was...” handled which is taking responsibility, and of course it is not your fault I never imply anywhere that it was. You enjoy playing with words and twisting logic. I said I never knew of this and you said you told me, so I defer to your better recollection.

"Again, my fault. I should have rented a billboard outside your office. You didn't "know" because you chose to ignore it. What your presence means now exactly, I have no idea. It's a question of caring...if you didn't care when you were in the states, why would you care any more just because you're "present.""

None of these incidences that I have confirmed are your fault they are my fault. I’ll accept your interpretation that I don’t care and I will leave it to others to determine if that is not the case for them.

”You're recollection is incorrect. We talked once during my stay, and I told you the service I was provided was completely inadequate.”

I recall talking once on the drive to Cartagena and once in the hotel with no mention of problems. But I will accept your recollection of the events and dually apologize for them.

“How long I stayed on my own and how many times I returned don't change the fact that the things you stated you would do during my stay were not done to any reasonable person's satisfaction.”

You indicated your trip was one big “headache” yet the majority of time you was with you now wife and Marbel and instead of ending this “disappointment” you stay beyond scheduled doing much of the same.

”I definintely met over 20 women. Of the 40 I selected, at most 5 were included in the 20. Of the 5, possibly two actually looked like the same person.”

I have the list of the women you met and their photos and many look very good. You went from all of them being ugly to 2 looking like your selection at least that is some progress that they were all not ugly? You met 2 of your top 3 selections and you met your wife.

“… pool party on saturday, because your translator Pablo stuck me with the tab for all the drinks including his.”

You invited the girls to the pool on your own after meeting them during the introductions we would not pay for such a date and of course you would have to pay for your translators drinks. Again the girls were all ugly but let me see them again.

“Jamie hadn't paid her in a month”

Your report that Marbel was not paid or even paid late is not true.

”...but isn't that longer than 20 hours”
You misunderstood what I said you were less than 20 hours into your trip when you met your wife.

”You shouldn't worry about client's ultimate objectives in life...”

I don’t our objective was to find you a wife which we did.

“It's incredibe that you want to focus on wether or not I met someone when this isn't part of the contract,”  

Sorry we do focus on the objective which we achieved. Air-condition in the taxi was not part of the contract helping you find a wife was and we succeeded.

“You dropped the ball again, and agian, and again.”

We had a few unacceptable errors but that did not stop the progression of our plan and the successful planned outcome.

“your agency did a horrible job and you want me to be grateful Go figure.”

You meet your wife using our services but you don’t mention this fact, yes my thoughts also “Go figure.”  

”…spent a full day in Cartegena with a girl who works for you and is not available in your database? For a guy who lives for the facts, you're going to have a hard time explaining that. I know the girl, her name is Jornadys, and I met her at the pool on Saturday for the first time....maybe 2 days after my arrival. Why are you sending employees who want to perfect their english to intro meetings designed for guys to meet marriage-minded women?”

You should know her name you went out with her. Her ID number was 1652 and she was in the database because you selected her as one of the girls you wanted to meet. I have the receipt with the list of girls you selected. If you would look and verify you would know this instead of attacking with intent to smear. I had never met Jornadys nor was she working for us in any capacity. I met her many months after I arrived and then hired her. You seem to have loads of misinformation about our personnel but the question remains why do you probe for such information months after you have completed your visit and why do you continue to do so?

“You can't get many lookers with your offers of 5 mil pesos, so you hire some as what....escorts? Unbelievable. ”

What is believable is you desire to fabricate. Jornadys did not work for me nor did I know her. There have only been two girls that have worked for me in the past that had their profiles on the website. They don’t hide where they work and you dated one of them and it was not Jornadys who did not work for me at the time. I don't even charge for meeting women that work for me and I have a poster on another board that can verify that. The fact that you would imply that she was an escort tells me your objective is only to insult and lie.

Karina’s brothers ”Then why was it that they were summoned to deal with the hotel bill that was not fully paid when I blew my top? They handled the money, the took girls' pictures(my wife's, in fact).”

They were just gophers as the tasks you showed indicated them to be.

“This is completely on you, Jamie.”

Yes it was and we handled the office changes with a successful introduction that ended in a happy marriage.

”Most of the girls were p***ed because you wasted their time and mine.”

So if I understand you did not like any of the girls because they were all ugly and the girls were pissed because you were what, too handsome for them?

“Instead you issued a last-minute cattle call that only served to make matters worse.”

Is that how you describe finding your wife?

“You were concerned with numbers...you should have been concerned with complying with my wishes”

We did comply which is why you found a wife using our service.

”I'm happy you decided to settle up with the owner,”

I never settled up with anyone I was never asked to settle up with anything regarding the room because nothing was owed.

“they actually leave a space between some of the rooms along the windows.”

There were no windows to the adjacent wall we shared.

“ Karina and her friend and your client from London were arguing next door. I was amazed at what was said”

I think it would be difficult for an argument to take place with a translator in the middle. Can’t 3 adults say what they want to say?

“then, and even more amazed at what was said when the client left.”

So we just let the client leave and go out on his own and you see nothing “shameful” in what you are doing with your unsubstantiated lies. You mention this guy who you all saw for a couple of minutes who was not even using our introductions service but fail to mention the American that was staying at the Hotel with you. Why? Because that was another successful introduction and you don’t want any positives in what has become a story.

”I'm quite sure Karina tells you everything. LOL... “

And I am sure the little voice in your head tells you everything too.

”You say most of the girls' pics are gone now, but you want me to point out which ones were manipulated. Enough said.”

I said most not all. You selected and went out with 1515 you selected and met 1635, you met 1795.
http://www.latin-wife.com/adv_search.asp
Point out the manipulation and why you define these women as “ugly”?  There are many more I could select but I all ready demonstrated you claimed all the girls were ugly and that is not true.

”Why do you still have photos of my wife?”

We have private files of every woman that joined. Should I throw the phone book away too.

“stop harassing her, etc. Calling a poor old woman in colombia to try to illicit information about me...what a man you are, Jamie.”

No one harassed you wife's family we called one time to see if you actually married prior to any public response on my part to verify what we thought was the case that you were married and we did not talk to her mom but a cousin. She was happy to give us an update. This is a perfect example of your continued excessive interpretation and twisting of events. One 5 minute phone call and we are harassing. After all the insults you have thrown about how Karina looks and her intentions along with how I look you want to tell me how a man behaves.

“You certainly want to focus on whatever positives you can...”

I just want you to tell the truth the good with the bad. You continue to say it was all bad with 5 minutes of good. Yet you spent most of your time dating you good wife which you met the first morning you were in Barranquilla and you don’t want to give us any credit for introducing her. You bring up slurs that are not possible for me to prove wrong and even more impossible for you to prove as correct. Since you won’t believe any statement I make there is not much else I can do. Your assessment of your trip belongs to you. We are happy with the results that we achieved and I am sure your wife is too.

Engage the Exotic – Where BAQman Successfully Met His Wife
http://International-Introductions.com

[Cali James]

... in response to Re: Criticism From BAQman & My Respo..., posted by BAQman on May 20, 2005

[This message has been edited by Cali James]

"with all due respect I dsagree. Some things are just too hot for the public ear. I notice that Jamie let this go.

Maybe that's beter for everyone involved. I have seen and heard things that even in a fit of anger I would not expose to the public. Is it not always balack and white."

Heat, you're making my point, some things are not meant for the public to hear so it's better left unsaid.  But he didn't leave it unsaid, he accused Jaime's wife of being in on a scam against a client.  I'd say if you're not going to tell the whole story, the accusation itself is best left unsaid also.  He should of left that out of his story IMO.  It didn't serve any purpose other than to a cast a shadow on Jaime's wife's reputation.

[beenthere]

... in response to Re: Criticism From BAQman & My Respo..., posted by BAQman on May 20, 2005

the more you write, the more I believe YOU...although you were wrong in slamming Jamie's wife... based on Jamie's behavior here on this board, representing a business, I can certainly believe your side of the story...